OTTAWA – Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland presented the 2024 federal budget on Tuesday. Some key highlights:
Accommodation
Hoping to build almost 3.9 million new homes across Canada by 2031, the government plans to:
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increasing the capital cost relief rate for apartments from 4 percent to 10 percent, allowing builders greater tax deductions;
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extending the mortgage repayment period to 30 years for first-time homebuyers purchasing new construction;
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making more public land available for housing construction, including Canada Post and National Defense properties, and leasing land to developers;
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spend $250 million over two years to address the “urgent issue” of encampments and the shortage of shelter space for the homeless.
Taxes
High-value individuals, corporations, and trusts will pay more capital gains taxes. The inclusion rate increases to 66 percent, up from 50 percent, on capital gains over $250,000 for individuals and on all capital gains for corporations and trusts. The change is expected to generate an additional $19.4 billion over four years.
Excise taxes on tobacco and vaping products are rising: $4 for a carton of cigarettes and 12 percent on vaping supplies, for a total of nearly $1.7 billion in revenue over five years.
Students
The government will spend $48 million over four years and $15.8 million afterward to forgive loans for early childhood educators.
Another $253.8 million over four years, plus $84.3 million the following year, will go toward loan forgiveness for a host of health care and education workers, including hygienists, pharmacists, teachers and laborers. social.
Public safety and justice
The government plans to amend the Penal Code to create new criminal offenses for car theft that involves violence or has links to organized crime.
They also plan to take measures to criminalize the possession or distribution of electronic devices used to steal cars and regulate such devices.
It will cost $52 million over five years to enact and enforce the new Online Harms Act, which requires large online platforms to act responsibly and creates a new commission and ombudsman for digital safety.
There is new money to fight hate, including:
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$273.6 million over six years for community outreach, law enforcement, counter-radicalization and victim support;
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$32 million over six years and $11 million each year thereafter for the Security Infrastructure Program, which funds the physical security of community and religious centers;
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$7.3 million over six years for each of the Special Envoy to Preserve the Memory of the Holocaust and Combat Anti-Semitism and the Special Representative to Combat Islamophobia.
Environmental policies
More than $900 million over six years for greener homes and energy efficiency programs.
Ottawa is also planning a national flood insurance program by 2025, providing $15 million to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.
And it is creating several new parks and wildlife reserves, including in British Columbia, Prince Edward Island and Windsor, Ontario.
For business:
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A 10 percent tax credit for the cost of buildings used for key parts of the electric vehicle supply chain over the next 10 years;
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A 15 percent tax credit over the same period for eligible investments in new equipment or retrofits for clean electricity;
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A new tax credit for about 600,000 small and medium-sized businesses worth $2.5 billion that disburses revenue from fuel charges dating back to 2019.
Health care
The first programs to cover contraceptives and diabetes drugs and supplies, part of the government’s new pharmaceutical plan, are expected to cost $1.5 billion over five years.
The budget also includes $150 million over three years for an Emergency Treatment Fund to help municipalities and Indigenous communities address the opioid crisis.
It also provides $6.1 billion over six years and $1.4 billion each year thereafter for the Canada Disability Benefit and related costs.
In terms of mental health, the government:
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establish a $500 million fund to help community health organizations provide more mental health care to youth;
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legislate a “right to disconnect” for federally regulated workplaces;
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allocate $630 million to access mental health services for indigenous peoples.
Indigenous people
The budget includes up to $5 billion in “sector-neutral” loan guarantees for resource projects undertaken by Indigenous communities.
It is spending about $1.2 billion on primary and secondary education and infrastructure on First Nations reserves, and $918 million on housing and infrastructure.
The government is also developing an alert system for missing indigenous women, girls and gender diverse people.
Foreign policy and defense
The Liberal government plans to increase military spending to 1.76 percent of GDP by 2030, including $8.1 billion over the next five years and $73 billion by 2044.
The budget allocates $1.6 billion over five years for lethal and non-lethal military aid to Ukraine.
It includes $350 million over two years to respond to large-scale humanitarian crises and $159 million over five years to support the “transformation” of Global Affairs Canada.
Foreign credentials
Another $50 million over two years will bolster the foreign credential recognition program to help construction and healthcare workers.
Ottawa also plans to spend $77.1 million to integrate internationally trained health professionals into new training positions.
Asylum seekers
The budget includes $1.1 billion over three years to expand a housing assistance program for asylum seekers, plus $274 million over five years for legal assistance for immigrants and refugees.
It also includes $743.5 million over five years to strengthen the asylum system and streamline claims and deportation processes.
Artificial intelligence
Ottawa is setting aside $2.4 billion in the upcoming budget to build capacity in artificial intelligence.
Most of the money ($2 billion) will go toward improving access to computing capabilities and technical infrastructure.
Another $50 million over five years will support workers who could be affected by artificial intelligence, including in the creative industries.
The government also plans to fund a new Canada AI Safety Institute and Transport Canada technology to use AI to inspect air cargo bound for Canada.
school feeding program
Ottawa is spending $1 billion over five years on a national school feeding program that aims to provide meals to 400,000 more children.
Daycare Loans
The Liberal government plans to provide more than $1 billion in low-cost loans, grants and student loan forgiveness to expand child care across Canada.
Public service
The federal workforce will be reduced by about 5,000 full-time employees due to “natural attrition” over the next four years, as part of an effort to reduce costs.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 16, 2024.